The present invention relates to apparatus for supporting the body of a person in an upright position to relieve the load on the person's legs, in particular for therapeutic walking exercises. Such apparatus generally comprise, apart from means for receiving and supporting the lower part of the person's body, an overhead suspension assembly, including a suspension cable or the like, for movably supporting the body receiving means.
Apparatus of this kind are used in physiotherapy for the treatment of patients whose lower limbs do not function properly. The suspension cable means may comprise an adjustable resilient tensioning arrangement whereby the supporting force to which the body is subjected can be regulated depending on the circumstances, with the additional effect that the supporting force increases as the patient bends his knees further, Generally, the suspension means is connected to a trolley or the like movable on an overhead track whereby the patient can make walking movements while being supported by the suspended body receiving means.
In a known apparatus of this type (see the U.S. Pat. No. 3,204,954 to Scannell) the body receiving means comprises a horizontally extending circular bar adapted to be placed around the patient's body with ample room for play and having a depending strap-like seat element suspended therefrom for the patient to seat on. A further circular bar spaced above this first bar serves as an arm rest for the patient's arms. According to another known invalid-exerciser (see U.S. Pat. No. 1,384,215 to Scott & Whitcomb) a circular bar with arm rests is carried by a supporting frame mounted for rotation about a vertical upright, which circular bar supports a seat element in the form of a saddle therebelow.
These known apparatus have the disadvantage that the patient's body is not supported in a natural upright position for walking and that the strap-like or saddle-shaped seat element is apt to press against the groins of the body whereby the patient is hindered in the free and natural use of the muscles involved in normal walking movements.
The invention has for its main object to provide an apparatus of the above-mentioned character which obviates these disadvantages and which is adapted to partly or completely support the patient's body so that the lower extremities and also the other body parts involved in walking keep their complete freedom of normal movement.
Another object of the invention is to provide such an apparatus which can accommodate persons of widely diverging body sizes, can be easily cleaned and can be quickly and simply arranged about and removed from the patient's body.